Fountain-pen.



F. M. ASHLEY.

FOUNTAIN PEN. APPLICATION FILED Au e.1,1912.

1,192,029. Patented July 25, 1916.

WIT M58858 JMWum/mn gage onmon.

FRANK m. ASHLEY, or'nnw roan, n; Y.

' FOUNTAIN-PEN; l i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRAN M.

AsHLn Ia citizenof the United States,

and a resident of New York city, borough of Brooklyn, in

following is a specification.

This invention relates to 'fountain pens and more particularly to the type known as self-fillers. i

The principal object of this invention is to provide a, self-filling pen of .large ink carrying capacity within the limit of length of the commercial pen.

A further object'is to provide a self-filling pen of large ink carrying capacity which can be filled with two strokes ofa plunger of integral construction, without unduly increasing the length of-the pen. I

A further object is to provide a self-filling pen in which the ink may be retained in solid form, so that the reservoir may be filled with Water, when the writing fluid is exhausted,- to dissolve a portion of the solid ink; thus forming a new supplyof writing'fluid.

A further object of this invention is toprovide a construction wherein the solid ink may be easily inserted and removed.

A still further object is to provide a pm which may be filled with water. in two strokes of a piston and subsequently to convert the Water into a writing fluid.

In carrying out my invention, I- provide. a short reservoir of larger diameter than.

the finger portion of the pen in order that the length of the pen may be reduced without sacrificing the ink capacity of the barrel.

The finger portion is elongated and the barrel positioned so as not to inconvenience the writer.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the description and claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure-'1 is a sectional elevation of my improved 'ipen. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken a ong line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is'a, transverse section taken along line 33of} Fig. 1, looking in the direction. of the arrows. .f-

The finger portion -1 is elongated sufiicientl to offer-the propersurfa'ce tobe end by the hand of the operator and has extending therethrough, a hore ,2. in which is inserted the feed plug 3, the -latterbeing elongated to extend substantially the ,entire Application filed August 1, 1912. Serial No. #12345.

the Warm fingers coming Specification of Letters Patent, -Patented f l 25 1916.

length of the bore. feed plug afiords a distanct advantage over the short feed plugs in that it revents'the fingers from coming into imme iate contact 'with the reservoir which is the case in pens having short feed plugs. In the latter case, into contact with the reservolr causes the air therein to expand and flooding results. The barrel 4: is

The elongation of the."

of enlarged diameter with reference to the finger portion but ,by reason of of the latter, it rests easily thumb and forefingerof the handand' does not inconvenience the writer. Longitudithe length nally movable within the barrel is a piston 4. mounted on alrod 5 havinga .tion 6 which is grasped by the operator when manipulating the piston for refilling the pen.

When the piston is actuated inwardly to. the limit of its movement, it expels practically all of the air from the interiorof' the barrel. The elongated plug assists in securingthis result by filling up the bore up to the barrel and thus avoiding any air space which would otherwise be left in this position of the piston. It is well known that in order to fill a fountain pen of'this type,

substantially all of the air must be expelled from' the barrel and with the above r6011- struction this result is attained; A recess .7 is'formed in the head of the piston which recess may be closed by a removable thimble or plug 8 having a plurality of apertures 9 opening into the barrel. of ink in solid form 10 may be inserted in said recess and retained therein by said plug or thimble. For this purpose, the cap 11 may be unscrewed fromthe barrel and the piston removed.- By thus iiisertingthe ink A ball orichunk between the finger porin a recess, the. piston can move clear to the bottom of the barrel and expel all the air.

The water with which thebarrel is filled dis-- V solves part of the solid ink, filteringthrough the apertures 9 and permeating the entire body of liquidin the barrel.

.When itis desired. to refill the barrel, the rod 5 is pushed inward carrying'with it the piston 4 which forcesout all the air from the reservoir. The feed plug is then immersed in water extending-above the mouth of the finger iece and the piston is re tracted, thus. rawing the water into the h the feed duct. The pen may for writing in the ordinary barrel throu now be. use

manner. It is usually best to shake-the pen- V slightly after filling, so as to allow the ink to permeate the water. To keep the piston in retracted position, I provide a pin 12 which registers With a slot 13 in the cap 8 permitting the pen .to pass into the barrel when the piston is projected inward. When the piston is in the position shown in Fig. 1, it is rotated sufficiently so as to bring the pin 12 out of registrationwith the slot 13, thus locking the piston from longitudinal movement with reference to the barrel.

It will be noted that in the above improved construction, the ink may be readily replaced and the reservoir may be quickly filled with water which can be gotten any where and a writing fluid immediately obtained. I have found that itis possible to insert suflicient ink to last for nearly a dozen fillings of the pen. By the enlarged construction of the barrel, the pen may be made short and compact without inconveniencing theoperator, as the finger portion 3 is made of sufficient lengthto be held during the operation of writing whereas the enlarged portion of the barrel is freely disposed between the fingers and the crotch between the thumb and forefinger on which the rod rests. Thus, the large heavy, portion of the barrel is not in the way and is in a position where its weight will not cause fatigue to the person writing. It will also be noted that the diameter of the rod 5 is substantially the same as that of the finger piece. The cap can thus be inserted upon the rod whenthe pen is being used, as shown in Fig. .1.

Although I have described a mass of ink in solid form to be inserted in the piston, it will be understood that a pasty mass could also be used without sacrificing the advantages of my improved construction. Various other changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1 A fountain pen comprising an elongated finger portion having an elongated bore, a feed plug extending the length of the bore, a comparatively short reservoir of larger diameter than said finger portion and larger than can conveniently be held between the fingers in writing position, a piston fitting within said reservoir, and a piston rod connected to said piston and projecting outward through said barrel a distance corresponding to the stroke of the piston, said piston rod being adapted to rest in the crotch formed by the thumb. and index finger when the pen is held in writing position.

2. A fountain pen comprising an elongated finger piece, a reservoir extending longitudinally thereof and of larger .diameter than said finger piece and larger than can conveniently be held between the fingers in writing position and of comparatively short length, a reciprocating 'member for tudinally thereof, said exteriorly extending portion being of the same diameter as the finger piece so as to fit the cap'which fits over the latter.

3. A fountain pen comprising an elongated finger piece, a reservoir extending longitudinally thereof and of larger diameter'than said finger piece and larger than can conveniently be held between the fingers in writing position and of comparatively short length, a reciprocating member for filling the reservoir, said member extending longitudinally within said reservoir at the side opposite from the finger piece, and a feed plug extending through said finger piece up to the interior of the reservoir, so

as to eliminate all air space between the feed plug and reservoir.

4. A fountain pen comprising a casing, the exterior of which is reduced in diameter for substantially half its length at 'its forward end to form a finger piece, a bore extending through said reduced portion, a feed plug fitted in said bore and extending substantially the length thereof, a pen point held between said feed plug and easing, said casing having an enlarged portion extend- 1ng from the finger piece to a point substantially corresponding to the crotch between the index finger and thumb when the pen is held in Writing position, the bore of the casing being of increased diameter extending the length of the enlarged portion, a piston fitting said bore and provided with a handle extending longitudinally to the exterior of the casing, and means for preventing the withdrawal of the piston from said bore.

5. A fountain pen comprising a casing havin an elongated finger piece of comparatively small diameter, said finger piece being entirely free from joints and having a bore extending therethrough, a reservoir of comparatively large f diameter extending from the finger piece and of a length substantially that of the finger piece, a feed plug disposed within the latter and extending to the end wall of the reservoir, apiston head disposed within the reservoir and adapted to be reciprocated therein, and a stem extending from said head adapted to normally extend for practically its. entire length from the reservoir and to rest in the crotch formed by the index finger and the thumb when the pen is held in position for writing.

6. A fountain pen comprising an elongated finger portion having an elongated bore, a feed plug extending the length of the bore to provide an abnormally long feed duct, a barrel portion of greater diameter than the fin er portion and having a comparatively s ort reservoir of considerably larger diameter than said bore in the finger portion, a piston fitted to slidingly engage the wall of the reservoir throughout its length and having a rod extending therefrom through the rear end of said barrel, the rod havlng a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the finger portio 7. A fountain pen comprising an elongated finger portion having an elongated bore, a feed plug extending the length of the bore to provide an abnormally long feed duct, a'barrel portion of greater diameter than the finger portion and having a comparatively short reservoir of considerably larger diameter than said bore in the finger portion, a piston fitted to slidingly engage the wall of the reservoir throughout its length and having a rod extendin therefrom through the rear end of said barrel,

.the rod having adiameter corresponding to the diameter. ofthe finger portion, and means projecting from the surface of the piston rod .to hold said piston in its retracted position. 4 v

8. A fountain 'pen comprising a barrel having an elongated finger portion provided with an elongated bore and extending about half the length of the barrel, said barrel being increased in diameter from about the middle thereof to its rear end and having a reservoir therein, a .feed plug extending the length of said bore Within the finger portion, a piston fitted to slidingly engage the wall of the reservoir throughout its length and having a rod extending therefrom through the rear end of said barrel, the rod having a" diameter corresponding to the diameter of the finger portion.

9, A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an elongated finger portion provided with an elongated bore and formed in a single piece and extending about half the length of the barrel, said barrel being increased in diameter from about the middle thereof to its rear end and having a reser voir therein, a feed plug extending the length of said bore within the finger portion, a piston fitted to slidingly engage the wall of the reservoir throughout its. length.

and having a rod extending therefrom through the rear end of said barrel, the rod having a diameter corresponding to the 1 diameter of the finger portion.

10. A fountain pen comprising a barrel having an elongated finger portion provided with an elongated bore and extending about half the length of the barrel, said barrel be-.

ing increased in diameter from about the middle thereof to its rear end and having a reservoir therein, a feed plug extending the length of said bore within the finger portion, a piston fitted to slidingly engage the wall of the reservoir throughout its length and having a rod extending therefrom through the'rear end of said barrel, the rod having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the finger portion, and a removable thimble connected to the rear end of the barrel to prevent the piston from being Withdrawn therefrom; Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 29th day of July A. D1912.

- FRANK M. ASHLEY.-

Witnesses: p

MINNIE S. MILLER,

MANUEL M. Vorr. 

